Don't look back in anger
by HeroineLestrange2
Summary: Spencer is the first one to visit Mona after she was uncovered as being A. At first it was to vent but soon it became about more than that. AU season 3, dark Spencer and Mona/ Spencer pairing.
1. Chapter 1

When Mona got locked up at Hospital no one wanted to visit and their reasons were all perfectly valid. Out of the four friends, the one that most had expected to break first and go and visit her was Hanna. She was the sweetest, happiest and most forgiving of the four, and it also had a lot to do with Mona being her best friend. The girls had risen in popularity together and Hanna couldn't just let go without the closure she needed.

Mona was sitting quietly on her bed watching the empty chair opposite her when her first visitor had arrived. Spencer sat on the chair opposite Mona, her haughty posture remaining as she glared right through Mona.

"You don't deserve to be sitting there. Some people might believe that you're insane, that you have a problem, but I know the truth. Inside your laughing at us, thinking you won but this is by no means over," Spencer said in a cool voice that allowed no emotion to crack through.

Mona didn't move an inch and in no way showed any sign that she had heard what Spencer had just said. Spencer got up, annoyed with the lack of response before getting up and leaving.

* * *

Spencer didn't know why she went back the next week or the one after that but there was something drawing her back to Mona. The first few times she went back she ranted at Mona for a while, before leaving when she had fully vented her thoughts. Sometimes the venting didn't even regard Mona.

Around her second week of visiting she had walked in only to find a completely lucid Mona playing cards with some of the other patients.

"Spencer!" Mona gushed when she spotted the other girl. The same girl, who not too long ago had tried to kill her.

"What happened to you?" Spencer asked rooted to her spot by the door.

Spencer was shocked to see Mona acting like a normal person and doing basic activities opposed to her previous trance like state.

"Turned out I was on the wrong meds, but they changed it and now I'm almost as good as new," Mona said cheerfully before continuing. "Thanks for the visits, I may not have been able to communicate but I heard all you had to say and I must say it was rather… enlightening."

After the first visit when Spencer had returned she assumed that Mona was catatonic and used her to vent all her feelings especially those regarding Aria, Hanna and Emily not to mention all those regarding Melissa. If she had known Mona could hear her she would never have said any of the things she had.

After Mona finished her sentence Spencer promptly turned on her heal and quickly left the building without a second look at the now grinning Mona.

* * *

Spencer had been trying to recreate A's lair while her friends had been running around digging their own graves even deeper, causing Spencer's already hefty stack of work to soar through the roof. Out of her three friends, Emily was the one being annoying for a change. Her drinking and attitude were really starting to piss Spencer off. God, they all got it, she was sad but there was nothing they could do. After another crazy day trying to fix the new A's disaster she found herself back at the hospital and back with Mona.

"You know, you were the first to visit me. My family is too ashamed to care and Hanna only visits because she feels entitled to know why it all happened. At first you came to blame me but now I don't know what you want," Mona said breaking the long silence between them, her words soft and thoughtful.

"Why did you want me to be part of the A team, why make that offer solely to me?" Spencer asked, she didn't know where the question had come from but know that it was out she was curious to hear the response.

"Well that's easy, Emily's the athlete, Aria's the artist, Hanna's the perfect friend and you are the brains behind it all. Could you honestly say that your friends would have been able to combat A so well if it wasn't for you. Don't be so naïve, they need you," Mona said through gritted teeth as if it pained her to admit it.

"If I'm so smart then why is A still after us?" Spencer asked, annoyed by how well Mona seemed to grasp the dynamic between her and her friends.

"Well Spencer, you may be smart but obviously you've forgotten who your main competition was in Junior High. I was the top student prior to dumbing down to fit at the top of the social ladder a little better. It was easier for Hanna; she was never that smart to begin with. I mean just last week she forgave me for everything I've done to her," Mona said chuckling to herself about how easy it was to manipulate Hanna.

"Wasn't that the whole point of this, to get Hanna back as your best friend?" Spencer asked looking disgusted at Mona's laughing form.

"Of course not, this is more about how your little precious group treated people like me. You thought you could step on us and we would just stay down? Well you were wrong. But out of the five of you, you were the exception. You had potential to be better than them, they're holding you back. With me you could do so much more, I know you hated Ali just as much as I did," Mona said, her face had turned serious and her grin was long gone.

Shortly after that Spencer left, she wasn't sure how to reply to Mona because for once she had spoken the truth. Aria, Emily and Hanna didn't stand a chance without her, her potential was too great to be stuck with all their baggage for life and she really did hate Ali. All in all she seemed to have a lot more in common with Mona than she had initially thought.


	2. Chapter 2

_I know that this is a random story and pairing, but I have a soft spot for it. I didn't think anyone would actually read it, so thanks for those who did. Hope you enjoy this chapter._

* * *

Toby was simple; he loved her, defended her and would fight for her. But lately all Spencer thought about was how she needed more than his boring safe embrace, she wanted excitement and danger. And lately the only person who she ever felt that with was Mona. She may be an utter bitch but she was honest, she hated Ali and made it clear instead going the root that Spencer had which was the theory of keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. Mona achieved a web of lies and deceit that was impressive while all Spencer achieved was to get blackmailed thanks to Ali.

Spencer wanted to go back and get to understand what Mona had meant the last time she had been there but that would be admitting defeat, and Spencer Hastings was no quitter.

Her resolve cracked the next day when she was having lunch with Emily, Aria and Hanna. They had once again started speculating as to whether Jenna or Lucas was behind the recent influx of A threats.

Spencer didn't want to point out the obvious but as long as Jenna was blind there is no way that she is the evil mastermind behind all of A's plans. And Lucas was just too much of a follower to actually be able to take charge in something that needed guts to follow through on.

Ever since that talk with Mona she had started to notice small things in her friends that were grinding on her so badly. Hanna was so shallow; nothing around her that didn't directly impact her was of any importance to her. Aria was completely oblivious to the real world; she lived in a fantasy where everything was pretty and happy and where no realism would ever be found. And lastly there was Emily, sweet Emily who was just such a glutton for punishment. Emily always went towards the worst things, Paige being a fine example of that or even further back when she was infatuated with Ali.

"Spencer, are you even listening to me?" Hanna said snapping Spencer from her thoughts.

"Of course I am Han," Spencer said glancing up from her salad that she hadn't been eating.

"God, you're being so weird today," Hanna said before continuing her story about Caleb, and Spencer once again zoned out.

* * *

"I wish I could say I knew you would be back, but you've always been an unpredictable one," Mona said as soon as she saw Spencer entering the rec room.

"Most people would say that I'm predictable, too predictable even," Spencer said as she sat at the table opposite Mona.

"Well most people don't know you very well do they, I mean can you honestly say that your friends know that you're here right now?" Mona said, with a happy expression lighting her face. When Spencer didn't answer Mona continued.

"Yeah I didn't think so," Mona finished for Spencer.

Now that she was here Spencer had no idea what to do or say, why was she even here? Neither one owed the other anything. At the back of her mind the answer was digging at her, Mona was she needed, an equal of sorts.

"So I heard that you met Cici," Mona said with a casual flick of her hand.

"And where would you have heard something like that?" Spencer said giving Mona a suspicious look.

She should have known better than to ask Mona something like that, there was still ways of getting info back to Mona and it seems the A team was using that to their full advantage.

"Around," Mona said dismissively before continuing. "If I were you I would befriend Cici, she's a real team player."

"Is that you're not so subtle way of telling me she's one of you pawns," Spencer asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No, but trust me. Getting to know Cici a little better won't be as fruitless as you think," Mona said cryptically.

"God, do you always have to be so damn cryptic. It's really annoying," Spencer said with a sigh of annoyance escaping her soon after.

"Because you're smart enough to work it out," Mona quickly replied.

That was their last visit, since then Spencer figured that it wouldn't do any harm to get to know Cici a little better. It was purely a test to see if Cici was working for A, that's what Spencer had told her friends at least. The truth was that she kind of trusted Mona to a certain extent, maybe getting to know Cici was actually a way for her to confirm that Mona was telling her truth. Spencer really had no idea what she was thinking, which might have been first for her.

* * *

The visits were becoming more and more frequent, so much so that she had to find new lies to tell Toby and her friends as the others were starting to wear through. Most days they spoke about nothing of real importance, they left A at the back of their minds. Today though was not such a day.

"Toby is not right for you," Mona said randomly in the middle of what had been a normal conversation concerning the last time Spencer had visited and had to duck out to avoid Hanna.

"Wait, what?" Spencer said. Mona's comment had thrown her.

"You heard me, he's weak, a follower, a loyal little puppy dog. You cannot be satisfied with that," Mona said seriously as she twirled her hair in a playful manner, the gesture out of place with her expression.

"That's not true, you don't know him," Spencer said defensively, though deep in her gut she knew Mona was right.

"Don't I though?," Mona said with a final grin before being escorted out by one of the nurses to get her medication for the night. Leaving a frozen Spencer in her wake, who was contemplating what Mona had just implied so subtly that most would not have understood. But she did. Toby was in the A team!


	3. Chapter 3

_Honestly have no idea where this story is going or came from. Any suggestions would be really great._

* * *

Spencer had to know for sure if Mona was telling the truth about Toby. So that night she went over to his place, a surprise visit from his girlfriend nothing suspicious about that. They decided to watch a movie; Spencer would pick it out while Toby made the popcorn.

While he was out the room she quickly hunted for his phone, she found it in his dresser. Quickly she checked the log, he got numerous messages from both Mona and A. The only consistent thing about the messages was that they seemed to implicate him in a whole lot of A's dirty work. Some that was even pinned on Mona.

But she was a Hastings and they done nothing without a concrete plan. So she swiftly replaced the phone were she had found it and spent the rest of the night behaving like the perfect girlfriend.

* * *

Mona was right, about Toby but also about Cece. She was useful in quite a few aspects. Telling them about Paige and her history with Alison was the kind of thing that Spencer had been waiting for. Maybe, just maybe Spencer thought, she would start her own little group and get Cece to join.

Paige wasn't really as smart as she thought; she didn't hide her pining for Emily very well. And her temper was legendary, give her motive and she would be suspect in any case. So Spencer started planting those little seeds of doubt for into her friends' minds. It was harder than she thought to convince Emily, Paige was her ticket out of the little dark hole her life had become, and she didn't want to doubt it.

Spencer decided that if she was to through with her plan she might as well get some expert advice.

"I heard you've been busy," Mona said instead of greeting Spencer.

"What can I say; I'm very dedicated when motivated. And I'm definitely motivated," Spencer said with a twisted grin.

"So motivated that you've neglected to visit me, listening to Hanna whine is not as entertaining as it once was," Mona replied with an exaggerated pout.

"I'm here to make a deal with Big A. You said I was wanted on the group from the start, I'll do it on one condition," Spencer said taking the seat opposite Mona.

"Which would be," Mona leaned forward in a teasing manner.

"I get to do whatever I please with Toby," Spencer said, an anger glint lighting her eyes.

"Deal, let I'll let Cece know that your part of the group. She'll be happy, she's quite fond of you," Mona said smugly.

"Am I supposed to be shocked that Cece is working with A, it's not like you've been that subtle?" Spencer said in a tone laced with a heavy dose of sarcasm.

"Yes, but now you know for sure," Mona said leaning back onto the coach behind her.

"So, are there any other benefits working for A?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Just wait till I get out of here, I'll show you some of the benefits," Mona said with a seductive wink, Spencer couldn't help but break into a grin.

Spencer left the Hospital shortly after, she went to the boutique were Cece worked. Emily and a boy she had never seen around were already there. Spencer easily fell into her role as the loyal and dutiful friend. Once again Emily was discussing how much Paige has changed. There was no way anyone but Emily gave a crap but they all pretended to listen and be supportive anyone. Spencer just wanted to voice what everyone was already thinking, Emily had terrible choice in partners, guy or girl it was always a horrible choice.

"Yeah Em I totally agree," Spencer said when Emily looked at her expectantly.

That seemed to be the right answer as Emily gave her a bright smile and a quick hug before running off with her new friend.

"Hey Spencer, I heard the news. Got to say I was a bit shocked at first though," Cece said in tone that was similar to the reaction someone gave when commenting on a friend's new haircut.

"Yeah well its time for a change," Spencer answered with a grin.

"One hell of a change though," Cece said thoughtfully. "We'll chat after finished my shift."

"Sure," Spencer said in reply.

* * *

_"Good to finally have you on the team. Remember Toby is yours but you are mine. Have fun with the revenge… and Mona- A_

Spencer smirked down at her phone; you couldn't deny that A wasn't entertaining. At there was no way that Spencer would waste the opportunity to get her revenge against Toby. Though the part of the text about Mona, wasn't made clear until the following day.

Somehow she had been cleared of her charges and been released into her parents guidance as part of her rehabilitation. Mona would be back at school the following week.

Spencer played shocked when she heard the news from Hanna but inside she was ecstatic at the thought that Mona might be at her side shortly.

That afternoon when she arrived home she found a carefully wrapped present in a box. Inside were a large silver gun and a black hoodie. Attached was a note that read "_Just a small gift to go with the bigger one that arrived today- A_"

Spencer had to admit A was really starting to grow on her. Spencer put the box away in her wardrobe before making her way down stairs. She had some spying to do.


	4. Chapter 4

When Mona walked into the school on Monday everyone froze and watched her every move with a morbid curiosity as if she would snap back to crazy at any second. Aria, Hanna and Emily who were in mid conversation with Spencer when they spotted her, all froze in shock. Well everyone but Spencer who was silently ecstatic to see Mona outside of the hospital.

"God, can you believe they let her out?" Hanna asked her friends with a disgusted look on her face.

"I know, she should have been locked up for life not just a couple of months," Emily said in agreement.

Spencer was barely listening to her friends' angry rants as all her focus was on the newly free girl who was smirking in Spencer's direction. Aria also remained quiet through the proceedings' as she studied Spencer with a raised eyebrow.

Hanna and Emily left shortly afterwards to go to class leaving Aria and Spencer alone at their usual outdoor table.

"Sooo…," Aria started, something that Spencer felt would not end all that well for her.

"Yes?" Spencer said in an impatient tone as she crossed her arms and looked over to where Aria sat.

"Mona's looking pretty good, right?" Aria asked suggestively, wiggling her eyebrows as she spoke.

"Excuse me?" Spencer managed to choke out in the middle of her current coughing fit.

"I saw the way you looked at her, also I practically gave her to you so you should really make a move before someone else does," Aria said in a playful tone, but her expression gave away her serious nature.

"There is no way you could just see that on my face, and what do you mean by you gave her to me," Spencer asked, her brain was working in overdrive as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

"You're not a subtle as you think you are. And I thought you would have worked it out by now, who was the least effected by A's scheme? Who has never actually seen A or been confronted by A? All pretty valid questions everyone seems to overlook the answers to, because if the answer is sweet and sensitive Aria then it can't be right, can it?" Aria said her features looked different to Spencer than usual; Aria looked harder, smarter somehow.

"So that's why Mona called you big A, because that's exactly who you are," Spencer said, disbelief colouring her face as she gaped at the smaller girl before her.

"Well you really are fast on the uptake," Aria said with a manic grin.

"I don't get it, you have no motive," Spencer said still trying to wrap her head around this new information.

"Well I guess you could say I'm crazy or just that I have a real warped sense of fun. Either way I really just don't like secrets, well unless they're mine," Aria said avoiding the question until she wanted Spencer to know the truth.

"I got to run, you know class and all. But seriously though you have to make a move on Mona soon or someone might beat you to it," Aria said reverting back to her old self in a split second almost giving Spencer whiplash in the process.

Spencer sat there well after Aria had left, Aria who was A. A, who she was currently working for. She could believe what Aria said about being crazy, the girls personality seemed to shift every second of the conversation, not to mention she had admitted to being A in a courtyard full of their fellow students without seeming to be worried for a second.

Spencer slowly got up from the table, sure Aria being A was a shock but she had more important things to take care of for the moment. Like finding Mona.

* * *

She had looked for Mona throughout most of the school and despite there being classes she just knew Mona wouldn't be in them, just as she was about to give up she saw the girl make her way into the bathroom. Spencer quickly followed.

Mona was standing in front of the mirror, when she saw Spencer in the reflection she grinned happily.

"I was hoping that I would get to see you today," Mona said in a playful fashion, similar to that of Aria's.

"Well here I am," Spencer said from a small distance behind Mona.

Mona grinned before turning around to throw her arms around the taller girl's neck bringing her in closer and closing the distance between the two.

"I didn't think you'd want to go through with this know that I'm out," Mona whispered looking down.

"I wasn't sure but I got some much needed encouragement from Aria," Spencer said matching Mona's quiet tone.

"Well big A does know all doesn't she," Mona said, smiling lightly and Spencer.

"Yeah, I guess she does," Spencer said before closing the gap between them and kissing the smaller girl lightly, the kiss soon became more passionate.

The girls were so lost in each other they failed to notice the presence of a grinning Aria standing by the door.

* * *

One Spencer had finally managed to clear her head from the events of the day, which had her grinning from ear to ear; she finally remembered the task at hand.

Carefully she removed the gun and hoodie from the box in her wardrobe. Carefully she checked that the gun was fully loaded before storing it in her hoodie pocket. Humming a tune under her breath she cautiously snuck out the house after checking that everyone was asleep.

She walked down the lit streets careful to avoid passing anyone she knew; all the while she kept her hood up just as a precaution.

She came to a standstill once she reached her destination, a large dark house. She went up to the porch and recovered the key from under the welcome mat. Silently she slid the key in and turned the knob letting herself in. She knew exactly which stairs creaked and which were needed to be avoided to get to the top undetected.

She entered the first room to her right; a sleeping form lay motionless in the bed. Spencer made quick work of tying him to the bed before he could comprehend what was happening.

Toby was still groggy with sleep, but he knew that something was wrong when he couldn't move his limbs. Once he saw Spencer though the worry seemed to subside a little.

"Spence, what's going on?" Toby asked in a sleepy tone.

"Just having some fun," Spencer said with a devious smile.

"It's kind of late babe, can't we do this some other time," Toby asked.

"No, since you won't be available any other time," Spencer said cruelly. Both her tone and words seemed to wake Toby out of his daze.

"Wait, what? Is this some kind of weird role playing," he asked genuinely baffled.

"No, this is what happens when you lie to me. You work with A to try and destroy my life. But it seems that didn't go to well for you did it," Spencer said in a cold tone before removing the gun from her hoodie pocket.

"You can't do this, I love you," Toby said pleadingly.

"The feeling is not mutual, and you can consider this our break up," Spencer said raising the gun to his head.

The last thing Toby saw was Spencer's wild grin and the barrel of a gun before everything went black.

* * *

_So I saw this awesome blog that has the Aria is A theory, and it actually makes a lot of sense so I thought I'd incorporate it in here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter._


	5. Chapter 5

_New chapter, yay._

* * *

Spencer lay stretched out next to Mona on her bed, Spencer had to sneak in but that is something she's learnt in all her time at spying at unsuspecting victims. Mona wasn't allowed visitors at her home it was part of her rehabilitation.

They hadn't said anything to one another since Spencer had gotten there. Mona just lay at Spencer's side playing with her hair and shooting her the occasional smile.

"So I'm officially single," Spencer said breaking the silence; she faced Mona trying to gauge a reaction from the other girl.

"You broke up with Toby?" Mona asked with a sweet smile in place.

Spencer resisted the urge to kiss the smaller girl; instead she focused on the question at hand.

"Well not exactly, it's a little more permanent than that," Spencer said avoiding Mona's eyes in the process.

"And by more permanent you mean…..," Mona started but her sentence quickly trailed of when realisation sparked in her eyes.

"You actually killed him?" Mona asked, surprise taking over her features.

"I thought you knew that it was going to happen," Spencer said, she was starting to worry that maybe this would be too much for Mona to handle.

"Yeah, but it's so soon you know," Mona said lightly not wanting to worry Spencer.

"But you're not freaked right?" Spencer asked quickly trying to work out what the other girl was feeling.

"No, it's pretty hot actually," Mona said with her slightly broken grin, similar to the one she wore when she first revealed herself as A.

"Glad to hear it," Spencer said before giving in to her desires to kiss the darker girl. The kiss escalated quickly; soon they were wrapped in one another.

The ring of a phone snapped them both out of the bubble they had created; Spencer looked around her in annoyance. On Mona's cabinet Spencer could see her own phone glowing brightly with each ring.

Spencer sighed and got off of Mona and made her way to her phone. She looked at the screen and it showed a picture of Aria. She pressed answer.

"Very nice work with Toby," Aria said as a form of greeting.

"Thanks, but I was kind of in the middle of something at the moment," Spencer said impatiently into the phone.

"Oh please Mona will still be there after this call, just need to know something real quick," Aria said in a calm but teasing voice.

"Fine, what is it?" Spencer asked in a rushed tone hoping that Aria would catch the hint, she didn't.

"Who's your scapegoat for Toby's murder?" Aria asked in a more serious tone.

"Well it happens to be the perfect person actually. Someone who is angry, jealous and who's DNA somehow found its way to the murder scene," Spencer said in a proud tone.

"You could have just said Paige you know," Aria just deadpanned.

"Really, did you really have to go ruin my big reveal like that," Spencer asked in an annoyed tone.

"It was beyond obvious," Aria said in her defence.

"Firstly, no it wasn't, you're a so it's not fair. And secondly, you could have just pretended not to have known," Spencer explained, motioning with her hands despite Aria not being able to see her.

"Fine. Oh my god, Spencer you are so smart I would never have thought of Paige in all my time as being A to be framed for something so heinous. Better?" Aria said sarcastically.

"Please enlighten me then on who you would have chosen," Spencer asked, agitated that Aria had pointed out so many holes in her perfect plan.

"Jenna. Bitch not blind anymore and she's pretty close with Toby," Aria replied with her own suggestion.

"No way, that such a cliché," Spencer said, from the corner of her eye she saw a bored looking Mona twirling her hair from her position on the bed. This phone call was becoming way to long for Spencer's liking.

"Can we finish this some other time," Spencer asked before Aria could reply.

"Fine, just remember that you are now in debt to A," Aria said cryptically before hanging up the phone with a click.

Spencer threw the phone down and resumed her previous position with Mona not even thinking about the implications of what Aria had said could be, not until later at least.

* * *

Spencer knew that Aria now had even more control over her than when she just knew her as A. If Spencer couldn't find a way out for both her and Mona early on they would both be screwed in the long run.

Spencer Hastings wasn't outsmarted by anyone especially not Aria, the girl was good but she was far from the best. She lost her team, Toby was dead and Mona would follow Spencer in whatever decisions she made.

Killing Toby had no effect on Spencer and she had once cared greatly for him. She could easily repeat that action and replace Toby with someone else she cares greatly about, Aria to be specific.

Spencer wasn't sure on her plan of action yet which meant that as a safety precaution Paige would have to stay out of Toby's investigation for the time being.

That night Spencer slipped past the dozing police officer who was stationed by the house during the investigation, she slipped all the planted evidence into a black duffel bag and quickly slipped out undetected. For now Paige would be safe, for now at least.

As for Aria, one way or another she would not be sitting on her thrown for much longer; the queen was to be overthrown. And Spencer couldn't wait.


	6. Chapter 6

_So yeah, this fic got really dark real quick. This is the last chapter, for now at least. Hope you enjoy it._

* * *

"Plan, plan, I need a good plan," Spencer said to herself in a quiet voice.

She had been sitting at her desk in front of her laptop for what seemed like hours now and she still had too many holes in her plan that needed to be filled before she could take action. True, in the last couple of month's she had changed a lot but that didn't mean she was reckless or stupid.

Paige had luckily avoided getting into any trouble for the crime she was framed for, well at least until Spencer was ready.

Then it suddenly struck her, what if the plan was a little closer to home than she first anticipated it to be.

What if instead of her flipping sides it was actually Aria, what if Aria was secretly with Toby and switched sides to be with him and when he wouldn't leave Spencer she shot him. That meant that Spencer could kill Aria and say it was self-defence, but she didn't need that on her pristine record. No, that wouldn't work at all.

It would be a shame to leave Paige out of her plan completely; Spencer just really disliked the girl. Something about her made Spencer's skin crawl. Paige would be a brilliant scapegoat but the only thing missing is motive. Why would Paige kill Aria? Maybe, just maybe she felt a little too protective over Emily and found out that Aria was on the A team, confronted her and accidentally killed her.

"Ah, screw it. That's a good enough plan," Spencer said to herself, she was tired of all this waiting and planning.

She just had a few things to take care of before the fun could start.

Spencer picked up her phone and dialled a number she knew by heart, it rang for a while before someone answered.

"Hey Spence," she heard Mona's voice say on the other end of the line.

"Hey, I just need to ask you a question real quick?" Spencer said quickly.

"Sure go ahead," Mona said happily.

"Well, I know after junior high you kind of decided to relax on the school work front but what exactly do your grades look like? Can you graduate early?" Spencer asked her contemplative.

"Well yeah dumbed down in class but that doesn't change my scores, I got early acceptance to quite a few universities not to mention that yes I can graduate early. Why?" Mona asked confused by the question.

"In the next couple of days things are probably going to get really heavy, so if we can get out of here the sooner the better," Spencer said, not even trying to hide the truth from Mona.

"You want us to leave together?" Mona asked surprise evident in her voice.

"Well yeah, I just assumed you would want to but if you don't I totally get it," Spencer said, she tried not to sound as vulnerable as she felt.

Spencer wasn't sure how it had happened so fast but Mona was the only thing keeping her sane and happy, she had never felt this, not with Toby or with anyone else. And Spencer refused to lose Mona so soon after getting her.

"Of course, I just didn't think that you wanted this as much as I did," Mona said after a brief pause.

"Now you know that I do, I'm doing all of this for you as much as I am doing it for myself," Spencer started in a sharp tone.

"You know that's not what I mean," Mona said in an indignant tone.

"I know. I have some things to take care of tonight but can I come around yours when I'm done?" Spencer asked, her tone quickly reverting back to the way it was at the begging of the conversation.

"Yeah, that would be nice," Mona said smiling at Spencer's question.

"Okay, I'll see you soon then," Spencer said into the receiver before putting the call down.

She was telling the truth when she spoke to Mona, she was doing this for them and their future. Even though they are part of the A team it doesn't mean that Aria doesn't expect anything less from them. Aria had told Spencer numerous times in the last three days that she expected something in return for giving Spencer the opportunity for revenge against Toby.

Spencer had one chance to end this for them and she was definitely going to take it.

* * *

The plan was pretty half assed by her standards but she had no problem with following through on it. Spencer had been outside Ezra's apartment building for about two hours now just waiting for an opportunity to get to Aria.

The small brunette girl finally left the building; she made her way down to the street. Before Aria could cross Spencer intercepted her.

"God Spence, you're getting really good at being creepy," Aria said jumping lightly when the other girl grabbed hold of her shoulder.

"Yeah sorry, can we go somewhere to talk. In private," Spencer asked in her sweetest tone.

"Yeah there's a place," Aria said motioning for Spencer to follow her.

The place was actually another dilapidated motel, 'what a shock' Spencer thought to herself. Just like the last it was set up as some kind of creepy shrine, only this time both Spencer and Aria's doll were sitting in a different doll house than that of Hanna and Emily.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Aria turned, her face instantly becoming hard something which Spencer related with A.

"Not so much talk, more taking care of some lose ends," Spencer said, her voice lowering slightly.

"Well there are no lose ends since we took care of them all," Aria said turning to face the wall of all A's various threats.

"Not quite," Spencer said silently slipping the rope that was concealed in her bag around Aria's neck and pulling tightly before the girl could react.

Aria thrashed around before finally stilling and dropping to the floor, Spencer then tied the rope around the girl's neck with a knot and through the rope over the beam that went across the roof. Spencer hoisted Aria up and tied the rope when the girl was high enough; it took a while despite the girl's small stature.

Lastly she tipped a chair over close by and left a note next to the hanging girl.

_This was the only way out of all my guilt, I am sorry for all the pain I have caused. I have tortured and blackmailed my friends, torn lives apart and I had to finally end it. I killed Toby my first accomplice and Paige my second deserves a better chance than that._

_I'm sorry_

_Aria_

* * *

The motel owner found Aria later on the next day. Both her family and friends were shocked by the revelation that Aria was A. Emily and Hanna tried to find a way around the evidence but there was just too much to overlook. Spencer being the dutiful friend helped them in their plight, knowing there was no way they would ever link this back to her.

Hanna was distraught about Aria and Emily was even worse of when later that day Paige had been incriminated in A's crimes, nothing major but Emily still thought that the girl was responsible for the suffering she had gone through the past few months.

A month later, Spencer and Mona left in an early graduation to attend UPENN. Nobody knew that they had left together, and they both knew that for now that would be best.

"God, these classes are so tough," Mona said sitting on her and Spencer's shared bed. They lived in a shared apartment just off of campus.

"Tell me about it," said Spencer from her position at her desk, she was studying for an upcoming test.

"Yeah and this girl in my class is a total bitch, she actually threatened me with academic death," Mona said in an overly dramatic tone.

Spencer glanced up at the smaller girl and a small evil grin spread across her face.

"We can always bring A back," Spencer said smirk still in place.

"I love your protective nature but that's a little excessive Spence," Mona said getting up and moving towards her girlfriend.

"Just a suggestion," Spencer replied in a mock defensive nature.

"Thanks anyway, that's sweet of you," Mona said, kissing Spencer sweetly before wrapping her arms around the other girl.

Sure A was gone for now but how much longer could that last, Spencer suspected between her and Mona that it would not be much longer at all.


End file.
